Ohio Capital Conference: Pickerington North working to meet high expectations

Friday

Aug 24, 2012 at 12:01 AMAug 24, 2012 at 10:25 AM

A wary smile creased the face of Pickerington North football coach Tom Phillips as a reporter walked into his office. "I guess we've been tagged," he said. Phillips wasn't suggesting that the school had been hit by a graffiti artist; rather, he meant that North has been targeted as one of the teams to beat in central Ohio this year.

Mark Znidar, The Columbus Dispatch

A wary smile creased the face of Pickerington North football coach Tom Phillips as a reporter walked into his office. "I guess we've been tagged," he said. Phillips wasn't suggesting that the school had been hit by a graffiti artist; rather, he meant that North has been targeted as one of the teams to beat in central Ohio this year.

In 2011, the team was among just three statewide in Division I that won eight games but failed to reach the playoffs.

A season later, the Panthers will feature linebacker/offensive lineman Jake Butt, a Michigan recruit; running back/defensive back Godwin Igwebuike, a Northwestern recruit; and offensive tackle Chris Huhn, who has committed to Western Kentucky.

But such great promise, Phillips has told his players, will mean little when the blocking and tackling begin.

"I've told the kids to keep their eyes out of the newspapers," he said. "We've got a target on our backs. This is going to be a challenge. We don't have one relaxing week on our schedule - not one."

Pickerington North will play St. Charles, Cincinnati Princeton and Fremont Ross in nonconference contests, then face one big game after another in the Ohio Division of the Ohio Capital Conference - Pickerington Central, Gahanna, Lancaster, Reynoldsburg and Grove City among them.

Its only losses last season: against Pickerington Central (24-21, in the final seconds) and Gahanna (24-14). Pickerington Central reached the state championship game, and Gahanna won a playoff game.

The Panthers have 18 lettermen returning, including eight starters on offense and eight on defense.

The players know that the team has made the playoffs just once, in 2009.

"You can't think it will be given to you," senior defensive tackle Jordan Grubb said. "There is hype, but we're practicing hard. We can't let stuff get into our heads."

Winning big, Phillips said, takes time.

"It's gradually coming. (Nebraska coach) Bo Pelini said that success is a process. We have to get our own identity."

The team's identity now is playing Woody Hayes power football, and the players take pride in being tough.

"We don't boast, and we don't talk smack," Igwebuike said. "We show what we can do on the field. It all starts with practice. That's what you see in games - how we practice. Coach Phillips rewards us for what we do in practice. Then there's the weight room. We get hyped in there."

For sure, the Panthers want to avoid a repeat of last season, when they found out they were eliminated from the playoffs in the fourth quarter of the final regular-season game, a 52-12 victory over Grove City.

"We heard the scores over the loudspeaker," Grubb said. "We got updates all game long. We needed a couple of other games to fall our way. That was tough."

In response this season, the coaching staff - particularly strength coach Mike Knapp - has made practices and workouts more competitive.

"We'll do a lot of one-on-one things, like tug of war and relay races," Grubb said. "We'll have five DBs on one side and five wideouts on the other and just go at it. Usually, sprints are cut down for the winners. There is a lot of cheering. That is a lot of fun."

The talk always centers on taking the next step - and that means the playoffs.

"This year, we know we have to win our games and not trust other teams to win (for secondary computer points)," said senior Mason Olszewski, quarterback and safety. "We've had the hardest preseason since I've been here, and that's a good thing. There has been a lot of running. It has been good - good and tough. Guys can be dead-tired, but they are flying around."

Phillips has borrowed a saying from another coach.

"I tell the players they have to be like moths," he said. "They should be attracted to the lights on Friday night."